survey: 78% use outside email servers
some still use free personal accounts.
by randy johnston and brian tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey
special
ceos don’t always know numbers
it’s worth your time to ask about what they do know.
by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting
one time i had a client who became his company’s ceo. this was a public company and i knew him as well as i could know someone whose tax returns i prepared and met with two or three times a year and spoke to over the phone another two or three times a year.
more: wealth is a state of mind | one hour a year since 1972 | 50 ways to make more money in busy season | 20 good ways to boost tax season production | why annual staff evaluations fall short
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at one meeting i asked him how he spent his days and how he managed the transition to ceo.
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pros surge ahead in tax prep
refunds are up overall, but down in direct deposit.
by beth bellor
are those diyers losing ground while the tax professionals gain it? why yes. that’s exactly the case.
more: tax pros handle 53% of e-filings | tax pros hold their ground | pros tackle 49% of e-filed returns | survey: tax season swings into the red | another tax season from hell?
the pros pulled out of the red year-over-year and solidly hit the black – or green, according to our chart – by preparing 55.5 million electronic filings of individual income tax returns, 3.4 percent higher than the same week last year. factor in that 2021’s season started 18 days later, and there is some real reason to preen.
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seven performance boosters for your firm
which one will you try this week?
by sandi leyva
if you’re ready to have your best year ever, then your first step is to plan to do something different. you won’t get to the next level doing saly – same as last year. here are seven things to consider doing differently in 2021 that will help take you to the next level:
more on small-firm growth strategies: why your google ranking is about to tank | seven tips to keep the clients you have | clubhouse: hottest new social platform or just more noise? | survey: who’s not billing for ppp services? | 5 ‘low-hanging fruit’ ways to raise your revenues right now
- move from reactive to proactive. work on fine-tuning your project management during busy season so that your results improve at each step of the way: getting new clients, onboarding them easily and systematically, delivering the service, getting paid, and retaining the customer. read more →
how to create a path to partner
… and measure staff performance along the way.
by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library
there are many ways to measure the performance of staff on the path to making partner.
more: making partner: what managers need to know | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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as is my style, i will present far more measures than most firms actually use. but i doubt you’ll perceive any of the methods here as unimportant. they are not listed in any particular order of importance. read more →
don’t wait for business to come to you
it’s called failure to implement. ouch.
by martin bissett
free! practice growth checklist
adultery and other messy situations
dealing with mistresses and mister-esses.
by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
the terms “mistresses” and “mister-esses” tend to have negative connotations, as they refer to out-of-marriage emotional or sexual relationships. all too often, wealthy individuals with a paramour (illicit partner) open themselves up to potentially very messy and costly situations.
more: smaller firms can excel as family office practices | trendwatch: new revenues in financial stress testing | become a thought leader | working with the super-rich and single-family offices | the family office model | the new way to get the best clients
family relationships are commonly impacted. for example, the matter of what assets become the property of the paramour can be especially problematic without the implementation of certain wealth planning strategies.
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gary cokins: the truth about activity-based costing
how to implement progressive management accounting techniques.
> download and subscribe to the podcast on itunes here
with steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption
management finance expert gary cokins says there’s nothing wrong with activity-based costing. except that you’re probably doing it all wrong.
more gary cokins: the myths of performance management
more steven sacks: effective networking is an art | business development activities shouldn’t be a chore | cpa’s best role: leveraging knowledge, not just process | avoid last-minute deal making | five common negotiating mistakes | the myths of performance management | business is about relationships | reaching for authenticity in client service |
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the problem is, cokins says, it’s convenient for the accountants to allocate the overhead based on allocation factors, like labor hours, number of units produced in a manufacturer, headcount, number of employees, and square feet, even though none of them reflect the unique consumption relationship between how the outputs products and services consumed.
are you marketing for next year yet?
it’s not too early to plan for next season.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
marketing takes many forms. further, many accountants are not trained in marketing. i also know that while most cpas want more business, they are too busy with what they have to be actively seeking new business. additionally, marketing can be external, internal or retentive.
more: don’t fire that staffer on may 18! | what to do with a lousy client? | but i am managing! | how to run a practice in 90 pages | how improv can help accountants | four tips for new partners | an alternative to pro bono | 14 better uses for timesheet data
external is where new clients are solicited. that takes effort, ingenuity, time and maybe even some money.
read more →
tax pros handle 53% of e-filings
refunds larger overall, but down for direct deposit.
by beth bellor
seven tips to keep the clients you have
“just about every time i called or emailed a client, they would think of more work for me.”
by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms
it’s far less expensive to keep your existing clients happy than it is to find new clients, especially because the trust factor between people continues to decline year after year. you might want to think about redirecting a portion of your marketing attention on your existing client base instead of networking for new clients. (and by the way, sending clients an organizer is not marketing!)
more on small-firm growth strategies: 12 ways to stress less this busy season | six ways to make your own history during women’s history month | ppp client fraud: how much risk is too much? | 3 ways to opt out of any downturn | how to lead in a crisis
here are some tips to mine the pot of gold that lies right before you: your current clients who already trust you and are eager to hear about new solutions that will ease their pain and problems.
read more →
women lag men in accounting jobs recovery
new records set in hourly earnings.
by beth bellor
across the tax and accounting industry, almost all the jobs relinquished by men in the coronavirus layoffs have been regained by men. the jobs given up by women, on the other hand, are still largely vacant.
more on jobs: comeback stalls as layoffs hit 1,500 in accounting | tax & accounting regains 3,800 jobs | accounting jobs recovery slows | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce
overall, the tax, accounting, tax prep, payroll, and bookkeeping sectors employed 1.02 million full-time equivalents in march 2020, before 70,000 layoffs hit in april. so far, the industry has re-filled all but 17,600 positions.
how a good managing partner impacts profitability
10 best practices.
by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner
i have compared a “true” managing partner to an administrative partner. both are important positions. both share many common duties and expectations. but true managing partners are more valuable because they function like corporate ceos and thus make a bigger impact on the firm’s overall performance than admin partners.
more: the 9 biggest merger pitfalls | the managing partner’s role in mergers | five ways to evaluate partners | manage partners with goal setting | overarching authority that managing partners must have
these three duties differentiate true managing partners from admin partners. true managing partners
- manage partner performance and behavior
- hold partners accountable
- drive the firm’s growth and profitability